Did you know that 79% of all trade show leads aren’t followed up on?

Whether you exhibit once a year or once a month, trade shows can be a great way to market your business. They can also be an expensive venture if you aren’t getting the most value you possibly can from each show you participate in. Here are a few before, during, and after the show tips to help you get more value from your next trade show.Before the show

• Set goals – why are you exhibiting? http://www.skyline.com/skyline.asp?cmd=%21dsp%20tst_objectives
• Develop a market survey
• Analyze your marketing database
• Publicize you’ll be there
• Decide on giveaways or promotional items
• Decide on style of trade show exhibit and ways to attract traffic
• Train your booth staff
• Bring plenty of business cardsHere’s a great checklist from Skyline: http://www.skyline.com/object-dsp/pdf/mkbrochures/N_03.pdf

During the show

• Arrive early to set up
• Have plenty of staff
• Don’t sit at your booth
• Dress the part
• Smile. Be engaging. Make it fun (Most important thing you can do!)
• Acknowledge person’s name in shortly after shaking hands – helps with name retention
• Listen for things you have in common
• Exchange business cards and make notes on back
• Ask how you can help them
• Network with other vendors

After the show

• Review survey responses and prioritize leads
• Enter survey information in database
• Follow up – meet for coffee or lunch
• Measure and examine results
• Get team exhibit feedback
• Use the exhibit in your office

With some focused planning and follow up, your next trade show experience is sure to be a success before, during and after.

Thanks to Rose Slaymaker from the Nemec Marketing Group for the info!

Do you need ammunition for management to justify keeping or expanding your budget for trade shows or marketing events?  You know their fears of the stagnant economy, and you know how expensive trade shows can be.  Please read on.  There are strategies to participate smarter and provide measurable return on your trade show investment.

  We have enjoyed positive growth in the trade show and event industry since 2002 due to many factors: strong corporate profits, convention center expansion, low airfares, the need for training and education, low interest rates, and the continued activity of event marketing to reach buyers.  Recently we have seen a shift in the economy.  Flat growth for 2007 and 2008, with a forecast of economic uncertainty, has everyone looking at their marketing strategies closely.  Many companies are looking at no growth budgets for trade shows, and others are withdrawing funds to protect their bottom lines.  Everyone is searching for economical and effective communication to reach customers. 

Face to Face contacts with potential customers is the most effective way to influence your potential customers.  Trade shows and event marketing offer the opportunity to meet face to face with many prospective qualified customers all in one day and will accelerate the selling cycle.  You can match attendee needs with your ability to fill them.  Because adults are visual and experiential learners, exhibiting is a visual medium that allows your customers to view your products, graphics and collateral materials as well as experience the interactive dynamics of the exhibiting process through hands-on demonstrations.

Skyline has recently produced a white paper entitled “Successful Exhibiting Strategies in Uncertain Times” and has developed a checklist with 16 tactics to drive successful exhibiting.  I have included this valuable checklist to encourage your successful participation in trade shows.

Exhibiting Smarter

1. Make Trade Shows a Part of Your Integrated Marketing Communications Plan
2. Exhibit for the Right Reasons
3. Proactively Evaluate the Shows in Which You Participate
4. Evaluate the Space You Occupy Versus Your Objectives
5. Focus on the Objective: Reducing Your Cost of Ownership
6. Invest in Graphics
7. It’s the Quality of the Audience, Not the Quantity
8. Focus on Your Targeted Audience
9. Don’t Rely on Traditional Selling Techniques
10. Invest in a Motivated Staff
11. Recruit Management as Part of Your Exhibiting Team
12. Exhibiting is Not Just Collecting Names or Swiping Badges
13. Create a “Follow-up TEAM”
14. What is Your Measure of Success?  Measure the Results
15. Plan to Work the Show Every Moment the Show is Open
16. Think Bigger- Think Beyond the Trade Show Floor

You’ll reap greater results by targeting high-quality audiences and providing the right marketing materials and qualified staff to address the needs of prospective and current clientele.  Your measurable results will show how trade shows need to be an integral part of your successful marketing strategy. 

For a copy of “Successful Exhibiting Strategies in Uncertain Times” or other information please contact Skyline Metro Chicago at info@skylinemetrochicago.com

Here are some exhibit quick fixes from the folks at Exhibitor Magazine.

Has your exhibit been around the block a few times? Here are some quick and easy fixes to help make it look new again.

1. Brush on nail polish to hide scratches on hard materials.
2. Smooth bubbling or peeling laminate with a Chamois cloth.
3. Use caulk to fill in gouges on hard surfaces.
4. Apply automotive paint to disguise large chips or cracks on most hard surfaces.
5. Fill in dents in laminates with Bondo.
6. Sharpen up dog-eared graphics by using a utility knife to eliminate unruly corners.
7. Fasten duct tape to the backside of tearing carpet.
8. Remove stains from your booth staffers’ uniforms and your carpet with K2r spray-on stain remover.
9. Cover minor blemishes on hard surfaces with a matching felt-tip marker.
10. Use felt pads to prevent furniture from marking floors and to level banner stands, reception desks, and more.

We at Skyline Metro Chicago are pleased to bring back Chicago Exhibiting!  Over the next few weeks we will be posting some new material, some old material and maybe even some off the wall material as it pertains to Chicago Exhibiting.  We welcome your feedback and suggestions for topics so please take a moment and tell us your trade show pain or your great experience exibiting in Chicago.  Thanks for checking us out and stay tuned!

Here are a few budget-conscious tips to consider while designing your exhibit:

- Plan your entire annual show schedule at one time (or even better your schedule for the next 3 years). This includes planning all of your potential booth sizes and trying to design these with the greatest number of common parts.

- If you exhibit at many shows, it is usually more cost-effective for you to buy your exhibit. However, if you exhibit at one show that is much bigger than the rest, it makes more sense to rent the additional parts to fill out your space for that one show.

- Make sure you put aside 1-3% of your budget to track what is and isn’t working. This way you can trim the fat for the next show or next year and focus on what is making you money.

- You can have an attractive, functional, lightweight modular exhibit (even for islands) that could save you up to 50% on your shipping and drayage costs. Those savings can be kept or spent in more productive areas such as graphics, promotions, staffing or ROI measurement.

If you notice, the biggest commonality when it comes to frugal exhibiting is planning. The earlier and more detailed the plan, the less room for costly mistakes.

Ah, the tabletop. The underdog of the trade show circuit. Although many may think that the smaller the exhibit, the less ROI, they are mistaken. Your tabletop display can be just as effective as an exhibit 10 times its size - if you know the right way to work it. Following are the Top Ten Tips for Tabletops (say that 5 times fast) from the January issue of Exhibitor Magazine.

1. Select one main image—Make sure your graphics convey who you are and what you at a glance. A bigger, simpler image is better. Stay away from busy designs.

2. Limit your text, aim high—Keep your text from about 6-10 words in length and place it in the top 2 feet of your display.

3. Select proper fonts—Skip the artsy fonts, make sure your font color is easy to read on the background, and make the font big enough. Basically make it legible.

4. Try different positions—Consider moving your tabletop from the back of your space up to the forefront. Bring it closer to your prospective customers.

5. Cut the clutter—It’s already a small space, don’t make it worse by including things you don’t need. Take out chairs, desks, and other furniture.

6. Light it up—If you want people to see your display, you must light it. It’s recommended to use two 100 or 200-watt bulbs, or use a tabletop with a bubble, backlit panel.

7. Train your staff—Since you have such a small space, your staff is really where most of your focus should go. Make sure they are well-versed in your company’s mission as well as all things trade show. The best number of staffers is two, but not in the booth at the same time.

8. Promote—Just because you have a smaller display doesn’t mean you should cut out your pre-, at-, and post-show promotions. You need to let people know who you are and where you’ll be.

9. Create an illusion—Get a table skirt that is the same color as the majority of your display. This gives the illusion of having a full-height 10×10 exhibit.

10. Consider add-ons—While you should always try to keep it simple, there are a few add-ons that may be useful. Think about getting a header, a portable DVD player for presentations, or small uncluttered product shelves.

Just because you have a smaller space doesn’t mean you can’t compete with the big dogs.